The divide between the poor and the rich has reached breaking point. Whilst we go about our daily lives, concerning ourselves more with the latest festival line-up announcements and Pete Doherty related antics than the source of our next meal, millions are facing the realities of AIDS, extreme poverty, conflict, malnutrition and death. Many of us are aware of this gross imbalance, but still many more of us find it easier to treat the matter with complacency and apathy rather than actually help doing anything about it.
It is easy to support charity campaigns in abstract terms discuss their motives and aims in sincere manners and donate monthly to their cause. Yet it is sometimes hard to connect directly with those that charities are supporting, as the concept of poverty can for us only be understood in abstracts that are free of the true emotional pain it causes. Hard as we might try, the idea of 30,000 people dying each day is difficult to consider as little more than a very large number and a very bad thing and as a result of this detachment from the reality of the situation, with our own busy lives that dominate our time, it is understandable that many of us feel little motivation to break away and get hands-on involved.
Yet for every generation there is a time when we must unite and get involved, for the greater good of the world we live in.
That time is now.
On July 6th 2005, the leaders of the worlds richest countries are uniting at the G8 Summit at Gleneagles to answer demands for fair trade, world debt cancellation and better aid for the third world. This is our chance for every individual who has ever donated money to charity or felt saddened by images of third world horrors to stand up, raise their fist and be acknowledged that they want things to change to for the better.
The Make Poverty History campaign unites a multitude of charities from around the world and has been raising huge levels of awareness in the run up to the summit. By joining the campaign you are saying that you want world debt to be dropped, international trade to be made fair, and third world aid support to be increased. Dont feel pressured to join simply because it is for a good cause, visit the Make Poverty History website and see for yourself exactly what state our world is currently in and then make your own informed decision.
A huge public rally shall take place on July 6th at the summit. If you believe poverty should be brought to an end then get the day off work or get a sick-note for school and find a way up there to make yourself heard.
Meanwhile down south, Live 8, a huge concert featuring some of the worlds most prestigious names, has been unveiled for Hyde Park on July 2nd. With a line-up featuring the likes of The Cure, Paul McCartney, Coldplay, Oasis, U2 and many more, its set to be the largest public rally in history, which is expected to be watched worldwide by staggering two billion viewers.
Even if you cannot attend either of these huge events or any of the hundreds of others around the country, the most important thing is that you at least learn the facts so as not be left in the dark. As music fans, take the passion you feel from listening to your favourite artists or records and invest it into this global cause.
Take a twenty-minute break from whatever you are doing and visit www.makepovertyhistory.org and read what they have to say, and then decide how best you can help make a difference.
You have a voice. Use it.
article by Alex Hoban